Exchange Sacrifice
by Psyga315
Summary: Tyrian, Watts, and Hazel bring the results of their mission to Salem, which results in her reconsidering her plans to bring about the fall of Haven.
1. Salem

"Enter." Salem addressed the knocking on her door as it soon opened up. She turned around to see Tyrian in front of her. She kept a simple look towards Tyrian. No smiles, no frowns, not even anger. "If you've come to say sorry, save it." She moved over to Tyrian and patted him on the shoulder. "You've done me a service, even if it wasn't your job. I have no inclination to punish you, but I also have no inclination to praise you." She said.

"No… I know I have failed you, my Queen, but I have brought other news beyond poisoning Qrow." Tyrian said. Salem raised her eyebrow.

"Hmmm… Do tell me." She went to her chair and sat.

"There was a boy following the girl. I fought him… and I got a glimpse of his potential." Tyrian said.

"Of course. Mankind _always_ has potential to be better, especially younglings." Salem said.

"No… This was strong potential. You told me stories of a powerful man, how he's like Ozpin… And… well…" He sneered. Salem took a moment to figure out what he was talking about before she raised an eyebrow.

"The King? You felt the King's potential inside this boy?" She asked.

"Yes. Yes I did!" He said. Salem smirked, just a bit.

"This is decent information, but albeit pointless. I don't know his name or what he looks like." Salem said. Tyrian then blinked.

"B-blonde! He was a blonde! With blue eyes! A-and a hoodie with white and gold armor and-" Salem put her hand over Tyrian's mouth.

"I think I know how to expedite this process. Go and retrieve one of Cinder's associates." She said. Tyrian nodded and ran out instantly. As he did, he nearly bumped into Hazel, who merely looked at him before entering. "And how's the meeting, Hazel? Was Sienna compliant or do we need a more agreeable leader?" Salem asked.

"He can be trusted. Adam, on the other hand…" Hazel then sat on a chair. "I have doubts about him."

"How so?" Salem asked.

"Does Cinder know?" Hazel asked.

"Know what?" Salem placed her hands on the table.

"About the Relics." Hazel said.

"No. She only knows of the Maidens. Why do you ask?" Salem said.

"Adam has one of them." Hazel said.

"What?" Salem stood up.

"The Relic of Destruction. I saw him hold it." Hazel said. Salem's eyes widened.

"What? But how can that be? The Relic should be safely in one of the Academies." Salem said.

"I know not how he obtained it, but what I _do_ know is that it does _exactly_ what you described. Warps the holder's mind until they crave about nothing but destruction. He's a danger. If anyone needs to be bumped off, it should be _him_." Hazel said.

"… Hmm… This changes plans slightly. I regret not informing Cinder of the Relics, but you'd understand why I didn't." Salem said.

"I understand. Giving her too much power might cause her to redraw the borders of who rules who." Hazel said. "So what shall we do about-" That's when him and Salem heard a third person enter the scene.

"Ah, Miss Salem," Watts spoke up as he walked to the table, "there's been a slight problem with meeting up with the informant." Watts said.

"Namely…" Salem glared to Watts.

"He's replaced by someone who's less cooperative. Unfortunately for us, he runs the Schnee Dust Company now, and the offer I brought to the table is now void because of the security increase in Atlas." He said.

"Hmm…" Salem sat down and took a moment to consider everything that went on. That's when Tyrian returned with Mercury following behind him.

"So, you want me to confirm something?" Mercury raised his eyebrow to her.

"Yes. Do you know any blond-haired, blue-eyed students when you infiltrated Beacon?" Salem asked.

"… Oooooh yeah!" Mercury snapped his fingers. "There was this Jaune Arc guy. Yeah… He was part of the same team as Pyrrha!" With that, Salem smiled.

"Mmmm… Everyone, impromptu meeting." She said as Tyrian, Hazel, and Dr. Watts all sat at their seats. Mercury blinked as Tyrian offered him Cinder's seat. "While Cinder is training to use the Maiden powers, _you_ will take her place for the purpose of this meeting." She said. Mercury shrugged and sat down. Salem looked to the table and created a swirling black and red portal over the table. The portal spat out a chess set as it fell to the ground, though not causing its pieces to fall out of their place on the board that was also summoned.

"Think of this as a game of chess." She proceeded to move the pieces around, taking some black pawns off the board while for white, she took the heftier ones, like the bishop and the rook, off as well. By the time she was finished prepping the board, two of Black's pieces were gone, while more than half of the pieces were gone from White's half. She then proceeded to move a white knight towards the black rook, taking it out of the board, only for her to take out the knight piece with the white queen.

"While we managed to gain some footing, we lost so many advantages. For one, Qrow's no longer going to be an issue for us in the future thanks to Tyrian." She paused to let her minions clap for Tyrian while he genuinely smiled for the first time since setting foot back into her domain. "But, the silver-eyed girl is not in his possession." They stopped clapping and Tyrian's smile. She then waved her hand over to Hazel and Dr. Watts.

"We also gained an alliance with Sienna Khan and even found out the location to one of the Relics, but the meeting with Jacques Schnee did not fair so well. We made progress, but we stumbled." As the three minions either scowled, frowned, or in Watts' case, shrugged, she spoke up. " _But_ , our mission is still clear as day: ensure the fall of Haven. Our plans will shift a bit to reflect the information of the relic's location, as for the informant, we shall ally with the Schnee Dust Company in another way. As for Atlas, while it _will_ be heavily fortified, it will still be the next to fall after Haven. If we go after Shade, the fortifications will only increase." She said.

"Understandable…" Watts said.

"The new plan will be so: Hazel, you'll return to Mistral and try to take the Relic. Dr. Watts, you are to either find a means to bring the Schnee Dust Company into our fold or find a more suitable president. Mercury, you are to remain here while Cinder recovers and trains to master her Maiden powers." Salem said. The group nodded and walked off. Tyrian, however, remained. "As for _you_ , Tyrian…" She looked to him as he bowed his head.

"I am ready to accept whatever punishment you have for me, my goddess." He said as a tear dropped from his eye. Salem looked at the hall as a Death Stalker walked into her chambers. It went over to Tyrian, its stinger poised for one moment before striking…

But it never hit Tyrian.

Instead, the stinger slammed onto the table and twitched a bit before it fell limp. He looked and saw Salem holding the now tailless Grimm by its stub before crushing the Grimm, turning it into a black smoke that seeped into her hands for a brief moment. She took the stinger, grabbed Tyrian's tail, and brought them together. The black smoke seeped onto the wound that Tyrian had and fused it and the stinger together. Tyrian flexed its tail and smiled.

"I misjudged the girl's situation. I'll give you one more chance to grab the girl. I will also request you bring this Jaune Arc as well. If you fail, then you _will_ be punished." Salem said.

"… I promise, I will _not._ " He said. As he got up, Salem held up her hand.

"Qrow's interference, along with the fact that this girl isn't alone, has me concerned. I'm assigning my newest recruit to come aid you." She said. Tyrian raised an eyebrow.

"R-recruit?" He said. That's when he heard someone approach the two from the back of Salem's room. Observing from what skin she showed from her heavily armored body, she had white skin and blackish red veins, not unlike Salem. The armor was similar to the Grimm's exterior bones, with a red outline down the middle. A golden choker hid her neck.

She wore a white mask that covered her entire face, with ten orange, tiny eyes, arranged in a way similar to a Death Stalker. For her weapon, she had what appeared to be a spear with a golden spearhead that was larger than her own head. She looked to Tyrian and merely rasped out:

"This sounds grand…"


	2. Cinder

Emerald stepped into the arena as she saw a Beowolf about to pounce onto Cinder. Before she could run to her, Cinder flexed her hand and created a stream of fire that incinerated the Grimm. However, she saw that Cinder was kneeling on the ground and panting. Emerald run over to her and patted her on the back.

"Are you okay?" She asked her. Cinder began to rasp a bit, prompting Emerald to move her head to her ear.

"I'm… supposed to be…" Cinder began to tremble. Emerald held her as Cinder began to cry. "I was supposed to be strong… And now…" Cinder began to cough.

"It's going to be alright…" Emerald patted Cinder on the back. Cinder merely shook her head.

"I… I was to be feared… powerful… And…" Emerald simply hushed the sobbing Maiden.

"Do... Do you regret this?" Emerald asked. She felt Cinder's head shake.

"No… I don't. I'm just upset at myself… I should be stronger." She told her. That's when she thought of something. "Emerald… Make me an illusion." She said.

"An… illusion? Of who?" Emerald asked.

"… The girl." Cinder said. Without a second to comply, Emerald created a vision of Ruby. Cinder got up and Emerald could see a fire in her eyes that she had never seen since the fall of Beacon. With a smirk, she set the illusion on fire, with Ruby screaming her head off as Cinder just smirked. Emerald's eyes just shrunk back in horror. It was true that she had regrets when Beacon fell and at one point even considered leaving, but there was one reason why she didn't.

Cinder turned to Emerald and smiled.

It was that angelic smile that made Emerald still be loyal to her, even when things were going to pot. She smiled back.

She will help Cinder be better than she ever was before.


End file.
